Umbilical cord prolapse
You don't need to be Editor-In-Chief to add or edit content to WikiDoc. You can begin to add to or edit text on this WikiDoc page by clicking on the edit button at the top of this page. Next enter or edit the information that you would like to appear here. Once you are done editing, scroll down and click the Save page button at the bottom of the page.
| Umbilical cord prolapse Classification and external resources | |
| ICD-10 | P02.4 |
|---|---|
| DiseasesDB | 13522 |
| eMedicine | med/3276 |
Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1] Phone:617-632-7753
Please Take Over This Page and Apply to be Editor-In-Chief for this topic: There can be one or more than one Editor-In-Chief. You may also apply to be an Associate Editor-In-Chief of one of the subtopics below. Please mail us [2] to indicate your interest in serving either as an Editor-In-Chief of the entire topic or as an Associate Editor-In-Chief for a subtopic. Please be sure to attach your CV and or biographical sketch.
Overview
Cord prolapse is an obstetric emergency during pregnancy or labour that endangers the life of the fetus. It occurs when the umbilical cord presents itself outside of the uterus while the fetus is still inside. It can happen when the water breaks – with the gush of water the cord comes along. Usually, thereafter the fetus will engage and squash the cord, cutting off oxygen supplies and leading to brain damage of the fetus, or stillbirth. Before that happens, the baby must be delivered quickly by caesarean section. In the meantime, the woman adopts the knee-elbow position, and an attendant reaches into the vagina and pushes the presenting part (usually the head) back in so that it does not suffocate the cord. It is useless to try to push the cord back in. Another technique is to infuse 500ml of fluid by catheter into the mother's bladder, in order to displace the presenting part upward, and to reduce compression on the prolapsed cord.
Risk factors
Potential predisposing risk factors include:
- Premature rupture of the amniotic sac
- polyhydramnios (having too much amniotic fluid) the cord may be forced out with the more forceful gush of waters
- long umbilical cord
Prognosis
The mortality rate for the fetus is given as 11-17%[1]. This applies to hospital births or very quick transfers in a first world environment. One series is reported where there was no mortality in 24 cases with the novel intervention of infusing 500ml of fluid by catheter into the bladder, in order to displace the presenting part upward and reduce compression on the prolapsed cord.
References
- ↑ http://www.gpnotebook.co.uk/simplepage.cfm?ID=1785397303 GP Notebook. Mortality 11-17%.
Acknowledgement and Attribution Regarding Sources of Content
Some of the initial content on this page may be incorporated in part from copyleft sources in the public domain including wikis such as Wikipedia and AskDrWiki. Drug information for patients came from the The National Library of Medicine. Infectious disease information may have come from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Differential Diagnoses are drawn from clinicians as well as an amalgamation of 3 sources: 1.The Disease Database; 2. Kahan, Scott, Smith, Ellen G. In A Page: Signs and Symptoms. Malden, Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishing, 2004:3; 3. Sailer, Christian, Wasner, Susanne. Differential Diagnosis Pocket. Hermosa Beach, CA: Borm Bruckmeir Publishing LLC, 2002:7 .
